


Each Night, Each Morning

by punto_y_coma



Category: Anastasia (1997), Anastasia - Flaherty/Ahrens/McNally
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 20:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15420798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punto_y_coma/pseuds/punto_y_coma
Summary: Insomnia was now attributed to a match that lived on the other side of the world. Time zone cruising became popular; those who could afford it, would take trips around the world, stopping at every time zone, in hopes of connecting with their soulmate. Nighttime cafés served as meeting spaces for lonely hearts clubs.Dimya Soulmate AU: You and your soulmate wake up and fall asleep at the same time.





	Each Night, Each Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Based on one of @r-evolve-art 's soulmate prompts.
> 
> (I haven't been able to sleep so I guess this is wishful thinking as well ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ )

It had been a victory for the romantics when science proved that soulmates were real. Anya loved it when her Nana told her that story. Up until that point, people met and courted and married without any certainty that they were right for each other. Soon enough, they would find that one of them was a "night owl" and the other was an "early bird", which served as shorthand for a couple that didn’t really click. Kinship could blossom from these relationships, love even, but it never felt quite right.

Sometime in the 1920s, old wives' tales about knowing "the one" by falling asleep, side by side, and waking up at the same time were suddenly taken seriously. Studies were conducted around the world that confirmed indeed that soulmates’ sleep-schedules were linked. Scientists called this Theory of Entanglement, proposing that soulmates’ bodies behaved in similar ways even if they were miles and miles apart. The romantics built on the mythology: insomnia was now attributed to a match that lived on the other side of the world. Time zone cruising became popular; those who could afford it, would take trips around the world, stopping at every time zone, in hopes of connecting with their soulmate. Nighttime cafés served as meeting spaces for lonely hearts clubs. Dating apps featured elaborate algorithms that, by entering your sleeping and waking times, promised true and accurate matches. "My soulmate wouldn't wake up" became a common excuse for arriving late for class; after all, "I overslept" didn't have that fanciful ring to it.

Anya was a romantic. Her Nana had married her soulmate and so had her parents; she was set on finding hers. However, as she got older, she started to know the disadvantages that followed all those idealistic notions. Two years before she went to university, she started losing sleep, going from full nights of rest to waking up at the crack of dawn and going to bed well past midnight. The dark circles under her eyes were a sickly shade of purple, darkening her otherwise youthful face. She applied generous amounts of concealer every day and wore blue gel masks at night while she waited for sleep to claim her. Her friends at university gave her sympathetic looks, they all had stories about nights when they hadn't been able to sleep but Anya had it worse than most. She could always force sleep to come, pills were still an option but taking them meant horribly vivid nightmares. It was a curse. Truly rejuvenating rest only came when soulmates paired.

~

"What are you drinking today, your highness?"

Anya looked up to find Dmitry - handsome Dmitry. He was her favorite waiter of the night shift, which was basically the only time she ever went to the dreary café near her dorm.

"I love it when you call me that," she said haughtily, making him roll his eyes. "I'm guessing you don't serve tea with bourbon, huh?"

"We don't - but I'll make you one. I'll be right back."

He returned a couple of minutes later with two mugs and sat in front of her. It was almost midnight on a weekday, there were only two other customers at the café and one seemed to have passed out on his drink. Anya sighed at the depressing picture.

"Do you still have trouble sleeping?" Dmitry asked conversationally as he stirred his tea.

"My soulmate is trying to kill me by sleep deprivation."

"Finals are right around the corner, it's normal."

"This has been going on for years. What is he doing? Working as a stripper? Maybe he’s a cemetery watchman…"

"I sure hope my soulmate is having a fine time," Dmitry said sardonically. He was a cynic, meaning he didn't believe in soulmates. "They must hate my guts."

Dmitry had been working the night shift at the café for years, he worked another part-time job to pay for his tuition _and_ attended morning lectures.

"You do look tired," Anya commented looking at the dun marks under his eyes.

"Well, fuck you too, princess," he chuckled into his tea. Anya would never admit it but she quite liked that he seemed perpetually tired; he looked soft, easy, like he had just gotten out of bed.

Dmitry looked around at the empty café and then down at his watch. "It's almost closing time," he said, swallowing the rest of his tea with a gulp. "Time to go, your highness."

Anya didn't know if it was the lack of sleep getting to her head but she found herself saying: "Will you walk me home?"

"Sure."

~

They stood at her door in uncomfortable silence.

"I guess I'll see you around," said Dmitry awkwardly as he turned.

"Wait," Anya grabbed his arm and reached out to kiss him. He laced his fingers around her waist and kissed her back. She savored the feeling of being in his arms. She liked him - a lot - even if he wasn't her soulmate. "Want to come in?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

He followed her inside; wearing that charming smile Anya was so fond of.

"I don't usually do this," he said absentmindedly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You don't usually fuck people unless you've compared alarm settings?" she asked sarcastically.

"I don't believe in soulmates, remember?" he quipped with a smirk. "I meant that I don't usually pick up women at work."

"Oh. Lucky me, I guess," she stood on her toes and kissed his jaw, then his neck as she undid the buttons of his shirt.

Dmitry cupped her face. He loved her eyes; those blue eyes surrounded by half moon shadows that her concealer couldn't really hide. So beautiful. "Lucky me," he corrected as he kissed her.

~

Dmitry was an early riser, always had been. He woke up before the sun and before whoever had chosen to use his chest as a pillow. He would always make breakfast when he spent the night in someone else's bed. It was simply the way things were. And so he was very surprised to find Anya's bright eyes blinking up at him at the exact second when he woke up. _That's how you know_ , his father had told him years ago; he had never believed him, not fully. Slow realization colored Anya's face soon enough.

"Morning, your highness," Dmitry said in a hoarse voice; he kissed her eyes tenderly.

"Hi," she smiled brightly, caressing his jaw, brushing her fingers over his smirk. "I've been looking for you."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments and incoherent keysmashes are encouraged. Come talk to me about Anastasia and Dmitry at my tumblr (@aralisj) if you want <3


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